James Sirius Potter sat at the Gryffindor table and beamed with pride as his brother made his way up to be sorted. Despite what he had said to Al, James had no doubt what house his brother would be in. Even if it wasn't a family tradition, James knew his brother. Albus was brave. A true Gryffindor. The number of pranks his brother had pulled (and gotten away with) was even more than James himself.
So, after a few minutes of not getting sorted, James began to get worried. Then Albus had growled out loud. That had made everyone glance around in confusion, everyone except James. He only gulped in worry. He knew that was a warning that Albus was getting annoyed. His fears were confirmed a second later when Albus got this dark, brooding look on his face, and James paled. The hat was screwed. James knew that look, and any smart person would run from it. Al was a Gryffindor for sure. The hat (for all of it's been made out of material such as cotton or whatever), got an exasperated look on its "face."
Then Al's face went pale, and the hat shouted "Slytherin." James felt his jaw drop, but he smiled a second later when he heard Al call the hat a "miserable goat."
Was he surprised by his brothers house? Of course.
Would it take some getting used to? Defiantly.
But judging by the look on his brothers face, it was still the same old Albus.
000
(Several years later)
James glanced over at his brother, and grinned, receiving a flash of white teeth in response. Puberty had been kind to Albus. He was the tallest in the family, with large muscles, and he was the school heartthrob. Al checked his watch, and counted down from five. When he hit zero, there was a shriek from the Hufflepuff Common Room, and a load of students came pouring out the entrance door, followed by yellow and black smoke. James and Al ran away laughing.
Once they reached safety, James grinned happily at his brother. Between his "recklessly stupid" Gryffindor bravery, and Al's Slytherin cunning, they managed to pull off some of the most epic pranks the school had ever seen.
As far as James was concerned, having a brother in Slytherin was the best thing about Hogwarts.